Snakes and Stones Pr. 2

Hi All,
This is a continuation of my Snakes and Stones thread here: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...kes-and-Stones
Part 1 catalogs my ball python breeding efforts starting in February 2021 up until July 2025. There are 504 numbered photos of ball pythons, each one displays a unique individual.

In addition to casually breeding ball pythons as a hobby: I also tumble and polish rocks.
I am not a 'professional' ball python business, rock tumbler, or photographer...I just like to have some fun.
I continue to capture #'d photos, each one showing a unique individual snake and a different rock (or set of) unless noted otherwise.
I will try to add a new photo every few days...it is currently unclear how many clutches I will have in 2025.
I'm not a rock expert, but some of them I can identify.
I'm pretty good at ID'ing ball pythons I hatch-with three genes or less...four or more genes and my ID's start getting shaky (without proof breeding).
I cannot go back and edit previous posts in this forum so any potential ID's that seem incorrect: Do take with a grain of salt.
Everyone is also welcome to post photos of their own snakes in this thread or discuss topics: I will continue to post photos at regular intervals.
I have used many methods for keeping ball pythons over the years, many of them are non-traditional and continue to be...
All posters: Please be respective of alternate methods of keeping.

OK! Here we go again!

Photo #505
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ked_b1qct2.jpg
Ivory Spider with some local granite-y stones from Massachusetts tumbled/polished.

Fun fact: The different colors in the granite represent different minerals:
White = Milky Quartz
Off-White = Feldspar
Salmon Pink = Potassium Feldspar
Black or Dark Brown = Biotite
Gold or Yellow = Muscovite
Black or Dark Green = Amphibole
...There are more, but these are some of the most common...

Love the snakes and stones theme!

Also, I do hope that this thread will eventually receive the well-deserved 4.5 MILLION views that part one received! :O :gj:

Photo #506
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ked_ha36ss.jpg
Turritella agate (from Wyoming, USA) with a Spider/Het for Gravel or Yellowbelly.
Fun fact: The genus of the freshwater snail fossils in this material is actually Elimia not Turritella.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ked_ihygbg.jpg
The tumbling rough stones I purchased of this agate were terribly unstable and are very difficult to keep intact throughout the entire tumbling/polish process.
The pieces that make it through are really nice though...:)

Photo #507
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ked_dxnrte.jpg
Ball python is a:
50% Het for Tri-Stripe (unlikely)
100% Het for VPI Axanthic
100% Het for Orange Ghost
As I mentioned previously: Some of my possible Het Tri-Stripes are pretty obvious, and some show no visible markers.
Out of a clutch of 6: From a Pastel/VPI Axanthic/Orange Ghost x Het Tri-Stripe, I have three that I am confident are Hets, and one that I am uncertain. The snake shown above is one that I cannot find any visible markers.

The stone is a large-grained piece of quartz I collected locally (MA, USA).
The larger the quartz grains--the more difficult the stone is to tumble/polish properly.
This piece took weeks in my UV-18 vibratory tumbler to polish properly. :)

Photo #508
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ked_ttcrwl.jpg
Some leftover dyed crackle quartz that took longer to finish than my original batch (Photo #235).
It seems that there were more purple pieces that took longer to tumble...
The purple dyed batch of crackle quartz must have been more unstable during the heat treatment process.

Ball python = Pastel/50% Possible Het Tri-Stripe/100% Het VPI Axanthic/100% Het Orange Ghost
Even though this one is a 50% Possible Het for Tri-Stripe...I think it is safe to say that it is a Het, as you can see the patterning on the side start to merge together. :)
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ked_k3qh4l.jpg

Photo #509
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ked_pulgjh.jpg
BP = Gravel/Yellowbelly (Highway). A simple morph, but I think it looks pretty cool. :)
The dark coloration will fade as the snake gets older and turn more to yellow.
I should be producing some pretty crazy looking Highway morphs in the next few years.


The stone is an odd one. I took it out of an ocean cove off the coast of Massachusetts, it is heavy (like quartz) and has a Mohs hardness of 6.5. There is slight banding in it. It refuses to take a high polish and settles for a satin finish. This was the only green piece I could find in the rough terrain, all the others were brown or gray. I thought it might have been Hornfel, but if I strike it: it does not resonate. Since I had to hike six miles back to my car...I only took one piece with me.

Wow, that's a very unique-looking snake AND a very cool rock- I even like the satin finish. Can't say I blame you for not carrying any more though (for 6 miles!) :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Wow, that's a very unique-looking snake AND a very cool rock- I even like the satin finish. Can't say I blame you for not carrying any more though (for 6 miles!) :D

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Thanks!

Six miles isn't that far to hike when the terrain is relatively flat.
My favorite spot to collect rocks is only 1/2 mile from my car, but requires a near vertical descent/ascent.
Climbing out of a ravine with 50-75lbs. of rocks on my back is not something I imagine myself doing in 20 years...:)

Photo #510
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ked_gw46in.jpg
Het Gravel or Yellowbelly with some pieces of tumbled/polished broken brazilian agate bookends.

Breeders Note: My clutches #1-6 have fully hatched at 100% viability. I have 7 clutches remaining for a total of 13. For comparison: This time last year (2024)--I had 25 clutches.
~20 of my breeder females were paired exclusively to two specific males this season. I have not received any eggs from these 20 females, but, I see full size follicles and I know there were successful mating locks.
It would be kind of a downer not to receive any eggs from my two chosen males, but, we'll see...I'm glad I don't breed for profit...because this is the point in time where I would start to panic. :D

Photo #511
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ked_xe2yqw.jpg
The stone looks like agatized jasper with embedded marcasite (a display piece).
BP = Pastel/50% Possible Het Tri-Stripe/100% Het VPI Axanthic/100% Het Orange Ghost

Some Het Tri-Stripes are easy to identify. I'm not certain about this one.
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ked_arasrr.jpg
I don't see enough patterning to convince me that this ball python is Het Tri-Stripe.
There is something about the dense saturation of the black pigment on the dorsal bands which I find interesting.
I guess I will have to raise this snake for the next 2.5 years to find out. :)

I just put the last of a 40lb. box of petrified wood rough into my tumblers for first stage.
I moved on to my next 'mystery box' of tumbling rough and I found a pile of large jade chunks (which will be miserable for me to break-up)--
Jade being the world's toughest natural mineral (diamond = the hardest, but brittle).
I also found a few large chunks of this material:
https://ball-pythons.net/forums/cach...ked_vtsbli.jpg
I know everyone in the Rock Forum could pick this material out almost instantly. Anyone care to guess here? :P
Hint: The volcanic nature of the stone is very different than the same material I can find in my area.